Iroquois County board approves up to $10,000 local match to pursue state hazard-mitigation grant for fairgrounds siren

Iroquois County emergency management officials told the county board they will apply for a state hazard-mitigation grant to install a warning siren at the county fairgrounds and the board approved committing an approximate 25% local match — about $10,000 — so the county can submit a complete application by the program’s June 20 deadline.

EMA coordinator Mister Anderson told the board the state made surplus federal mitigation funds available to counties with approved hazard-mitigation plans and projects; the siren project is one of the county’s prioritized items. He said the full Federal Signal turnkey installation he researched would cost about $40,000 and would include site work, pole installation and voice-capable alerting. Anderson said the county’s electrical cooperative would likely provide the on-site hookup, and in-kind labor or invoiced work by the cooperative could be counted toward the county match.

Nut graf: The county must submit the entire application package by June 20 to be eligible for the competitive funding pool. Board members pressed for confirmation that the fairboard, local fire department and the electrical cooperative had been contacted; Anderson said he had reached out but was still awaiting formal commitments. The board’s vote authorized staff to submit a letter of intent and proceed with the application, with the county committing to provide the local share if the grant is awarded.

Board procedure and outcome: A board member made the motion to approve the county covering roughly 25% of the project cost; a second was recorded and the motion was approved by voice vote. The transcript does not list an itemized roll-call tally; Anderson noted that if the county is awarded the grant it could decline or modify acceptance later.

Background and next steps: Anderson described the project as a public-safety priority at fair time, when large outdoor crowds and frequent summer storms increase the need to warn people on-site. The application is 38 pages plus required supplements, he said, and he selected a smaller project to avoid lengthy engineering requirements. He said he would continue outreach to the fairboard and local fire department to document partners and any additional local funding before the June 20 submission. If the county receives an award, staff will return to the board for formal acceptance and any required budget adjustments.

Ending: Anderson said he would file the letter of intent and try to return to the board Tuesday with updated information from the fairboard and the cooperative. The application deadline, as stated in the meeting, is June 20.